Go Fix 8 massive increase!

KMK

My son followed Martin's advice on Dec 14th (encouraged by me!) and switched to the N Power Go Fix 8 tariff as it seemed like a good deal. Up to then he was paying £102 a month for dual fuel on their on line Go Fix tariff.

However when he checked his bank statements he realized that the monthly amount has risen to £176 from £102 after switching. He has sent in meter readings etc and could not understand such a massive hike.He lives alone, is out at work all day and is not a high user.

He rang N power today and they said he has to send in further readings before they can amend the direct debits,but he has already sent in readings since moving to this new tariff.

Has anyone else who moved recently to this tariff had such massive increases and is there an explanation we have missed?

Consumerist

As a first move, I suggest your son asks the company how they have arrived at the DD amount they are charging; the company is obliged to provide him with this information, if requested.

If your son [has provided regular meter readings and] has bills/statements from his previous tariff then he should add up the number of kWh charged in each bill, for gas and electricity separately, over approximately a one-year period to arrive at his previous annual consumption; these figures can then be used on comparison sites to see what the annual charges should be on his new tariff. Divide the annual charge by 12 to give the approximate amount of a monthly DD.

If the energy company is charging significantly differently and will not explain or amend the DD then a formal complaint seems the best approach.

There could be reasons such as a debit balance on the previous tariff which has been carried forward to the new account. Or it might be nPower's zero Spring balance policy/practice about which there is an ongoing MSE-user campaign.

jalexa

KMK wrote: »

is there an explanation we have missed?

Well there are a lot of explanations in your post which are missing. Firstly what NPower thinks is the annual consumption assumption (and whether your son agrees), the account balance at the tariff change, the extra cost of Go Fix 8 over Go Fix, and the account balance at the most recent bill calculation. Concentrate less on the DD amount and more on the consumption.

The DD hike should not have been a surprise as DD rules require notice. The notice *may* have been hidden in the small print of a bill.